Ferrari react to Lewis Hamilton’s disastrous F1 Qatar GP: “Not worried at all”
"Not at all. Have a look on the 50 laps that he did in Vegas."
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur is “not worried at all” about Lewis Hamilton’s form following a disastrous F1 Qatar Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished outside of the points at the Lusail International Circuit after a miserable race.
The seven-time world champion struggled for pace throughout the weekend in Qatar and was in a downbeat mood when speaking to the media after the various sessions throughout the weekend.
Sunday’s race didn’t go to plan for Hamilton after a slow start from sixth on the grid.
Hamilton found himself down in ninth before serving a five-second time penalty due to a false start.
The 39-year-old then picked up a puncture which dropped him to the back of the field.
Under the Safety Car, he received a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane, capping off a shocking weekend for Hamilton.
Hamilton will make the switch to Ferrari alongside Charles Leclerc for the 2025 F1 season, and while this year has arguably been his worst in F1, the Ferrari team boss isn’t worried.
Vasseur cited Hamilton’s recovery from 10th on the grid to finish second at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Speaking after the race in Qatar, where Crash.net were present in the paddock, the Frenchman was asked if he was concerned about Hamilton’s performance.
He replied: “Not at all. Have a look on the 50 laps that he did in Vegas.
“Starting P10, finishing on the gearbox of Russell, I'm not worried at all.”
Hamilton’s miserable final year with Mercedes
The results of the Qatar GP mean Hamilton is on course for his lowest F1 championship position ever.
He’s 24 points behind teammate George Russell with one race to go in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton will have to win at the Yas Marina Circuit, with Russell failing to finish in the top 10, to secure P5.
If Russell beats Hamilton in the drivers’ championship this year then he will become the first teammate to do so in two separate seasons.
Hamilton beat Fernando Alonso in 2007 on countback (they scored the same amount of points) and then saw off Heikki Kovalainen in the next two years at McLaren.
He finished ahead of Jenson Button in two of their three years together.
Nico Rosberg finished ahead of Hamilton in just one of their four campaigns as teammates (2016).
Hamilton whitewashed Valtteri Bottas 5-0 between 2017 and 2021.
Russell out-scored Hamilton in 2022 and is set to do so in 2024.
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